The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has launched Thunderdome, a comprehensive suite of IT and cyber-based technologies designed to provide unparalleled protection and reliability for the Department of Defense. This zero trust network access and application security architecture leverages enterprise Identity, Credential, and Access Management, commercial Secure Access Service Edge, and software-defined networking and security tools. The program aims to continually verify users to grant access to systems and data, utilizing real-time access to user and policy data. Confluent's data streaming platform will be a critical component of the Thunderdome architecture, enabling data integration, policy-based access control, and multi-tenant data management best practices. This initiative builds on DISA's previous zero trust cybersecurity reference architecture for the DoD, delivered in 2021, and marks an important step towards improving government cybersecurity.